India have announced their squad for the biennial men’s Under-19 World Cup. It’s a tournament that’s always looked upon with immense excitement in the country, for it gives a brief look into the potential future stars.
Below, we take a look at all 15 captains to have lead the team in this esteemed competition.
Amit Pagnis (1998): Pagnis captained India in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1998. A highly regarded batter in age-group cricket in Mumbai, who was famous for smashing the great Shane Warne on a tour to India, he had a solid 5000-run domestic career but did not represent India at the senior international level.
Mohammad Kaif (2000): Kaif led India to their first Under-19 World Cup title in 2000, defeating Sri Lanka
in the final. He went on to become a mainstay in India’s senior team — the first to do so — known for his athletic fielding and calm temperament in pressure situations, and now works as a popular pundit.
Parthiv Patel (2002): Patel captained India at the 2002 Under-19 World Cup, where the defending champions reached the semifinals. A wicketkeeper-batsman, he made his senior India debut at just 17 and enjoyed a long international and domestic career. He now works as a coach/mentor at IPL franchise Gujarat Titans.
Dinesh Karthik (2004): Another wicketkeeper-captain, Karthik led the Indian side in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, guiding them to the semifinals again. At that time, he was considered the wicketkeeping prodigy but was ultimately overshadowed by MS Dhoni’s entry into the team.
Still, he briefly became a regular in India’s senior team across formats and built a reputation as a dependable wicketkeeper-batter. His career flourished mainly in the IPL and in a second-coming to the T20I side, where he has now made a career out of coaching at Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Ravikant Shukla (2006): Shukla captained India to the final of the 2006 Under-19 World Cup, where they finished runners-up to Pakistan. A left-handed top-order batter, he had a tough tournament personally. He played domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh and had a stint at Punjab Kings, but did not feature at the senior international level.
Virat Kohli (2008): By far the most successful international in this list, Kohli captained India to their second Under-19 World Cup title in 2008. He went on to become one of the most successful batters in cricket history, serving as India’s captain across all formats. Unfortunately for his successors, several are judged with Kohli as the yardstick. Most fail to live up to it.
Ashok Menaria (2010): A left-arm spinner and middle-order batter, Menaria led India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, where the team exited at the quarterfinal stage. He led Rajasthan in age-group competitions and played 96 first-class matches for Rajasthan and then Haryana.
Unmukt Chand (2012): Chand captained India to their third Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2012 and scored an unbeaten century in the final — making him the first true victim of the Virat Kohli Benchmark after he failed to make it through the system. He played domestic cricket for a couple of teams, IPL, and overseas T20 leagues before moving to the United States system.
Vijay Zol (2014): A left-handed batter, Zol garnered fame with a stellar 451 in a Cooch Behar Under-19 game in 2011. After decent success in age-group bilaterals, he captained India at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, but the team bowed out in the quarterfinals. Despite early promise, he was unable to translate his youth success into a bigger domestic or international career.
Ishan Kishan (2016): Kishan led India to the final of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where they finished runners-up to West Indies. He later broke into the senior Indian team and established himself as an aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman, and has recently returned to the T20I side for the senior men’s 2026 T20 World Cup.
Prithvi Shaw (2018): Shaw captained India to their fourth Under-19 World Cup title in 2018. Regarded as one of India’s brightest batting talents at the time, he represented the senior national team and played extensively in domestic cricket and the IPL. After years of controversies and off-field troubles, he’s trying to rebuild his career, starting with a return to the T20 league with Delhi Capitals.
Priyam Garg (2020): Garg captained India in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup, where the team finished runners-up after losing the final to Bangladesh. A left-handed batter, he has since been part of India’s domestic circuit and the IPL.
Yash Dhull (2022): A star of the Delhi domestic cricket system, Dhull helped India to win the 2022 edition of the tournament, with a win over England in the final. He continued his steep rise for a while after that, but has struggled for chances since then, mostly plying his trade in the Delhi Premier League.
Uday Saharan (2024): Uday Saharan captained India in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup, leading the side to the final. A technically sound middle-order batter, he emerged as one of India’s most consistent performers in the tournament. Like Dhull, he’s fighting for a bit more chances since then.
Ayush Mhatre (2026): Another in the list of prodigies, the Mumbai youngster Mhatre is considered the next big thing in Indian cricket. He has impressed in his 13 T20s so far, scoring 565 runs at an average of 56.50 with a strike-rate of 175.46.
